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Councilmember Friedson speaking at the Pedestrian and Biker Safety Walk on September 9th with SHA, state partners, and residents.
On September 9th I hosted a bicyclist and pedestrian safety walk on Old Georgetown Road (MD-187) in Bethesda alongside my District 16 state partners, Senator Susan Lee; and Delegates Ariana Kelly, Marc Korman, and Sara Love. We met with many residents as well as representatives from the Maryland State Highway Administration to discuss much needed pedestrian and bicycle safety measures. Thank you to everyone who came to this important walk to show your support and learn about the needs of the pedestrians and bicyclists who use this dangerous/deadly road. If you missed our walk or the September 29 virtual public meeting, you can continue to engage on this issue and provide your feedback on safety improvements to Old Georgetown Road to MDOT SHA by emailing md187corridor@mdot.maryland.gov (with subject line “MD 187 Feedback”).
Old Georgetown Road is not where our work ends. We have lost far too many lives on our roadways, and we are not moving nearly fast enough to make them safer. Our roads are for everyone, and they need to be safe for everyone. On Old Georgetown Road, it took the death of Jake Cassell in 2019 to implement a dedicated bike lane and the death of Enzo Alvarenga in June 2022 to approve the placement of bollards between the vehicle travel lanes and the bike lane. While these deaths and their resultant advocacy have not been in vain, they only account for 0.6 miles of separated bike lines along one segment of Old Georgetown Road. Residents and advocates continue to call for the improvement of the entire corridor of Old Georgetown Road, which would connect two urban destinations, North Bethesda/The Pike District and Downtown Bethesda. We cannot have protected with bike lanes on just part of that roadway; we need all of that roadway protected with bike lanes. Furthermore, the recent tragic death of Sarah Langenkamp highlighted bicyclist safety issues on River Road, which are similar to issues we see on many state highways where certain interim measures have been taken, but they aren't enough. On River Road, we need more than a bike lane with some paint stripping to call it bicycle infrastructure. We need a bike lane with a buffer that protects bicyclists from the speed and the danger of cars, and we also need to make sure that it's continuous and allows bicyclists to travel to and from their destination safely.
While there is so much work to do, we have made some progress and need to urgently build on it. When Jennifer DiMauro was killed on Tuckerman Lane at the Bethesda Trolley Trail crossing in 2019, my office advocated for increased safety measures until MCDOT finally agreed to implementing a HAWK beacon. When a former member of my staff, Eric Grosse, was killed at that same crossing this year, we lowered the speed limit. After my office sent a request to MCDOT, the Department will soon be implementing a road diet pilot this fall to eliminate the multi-lane threat and slow vehicles down at this heavily used pedestrian and bicyclist trail crossing. It should not take one tragedy, much less multiple death to make the changes that we know will save lives on our roadways. Please also continue to look out for important Council conversations on road safety and related infrastructure, like the September 19 Transportation & Environment Committee meeting I participated in to discuss the County’s sidewalk program & the Planning department’s predictive safety analysis, and the September 20 Council briefing on the County’s Vision Zero program.
I am encouraged by the thoughtful feedback our residents have taken the time to share with our office and we hope you will continue to share your thoughts with us regarding short- and long-term improvements to our roadways as we continue this critical work. You can reach us by emailing us at councilmember.friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov and calling us at (240) 777-7828.
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